Lucky To Have You
by TVaddict
Summary: Blair and Jo are fighting... again. Can Jo forget about it in order to help out a friend?


Note: These characters aren't mine and they probably never will be.  
  
  
This story takes place during SEASON 5.   
  
"Lucky to Have You"   
  
  
It was a typical Friday afternoon at Edna's Edibles. Tootie was ringing up a customer, Natalie was working on her homework, Jo was stocking the shelves and Mrs. Garrett was bringing out a tray of fresh croissants. Blair was nowhere to be found, and Jo was becoming irritated.  
  
"I don't know why Blair does this all the time. Mrs. G, you gotta do somethin'. She can't just keep skipping out on her shifts like this."   
  
"I know Jo, I know. But you know how Blair is."   
  
"Yeah, I know exactly how she is. But she can't keep using the fact that she's an airhead as an excuse."   
  
"I'll talk to her when she gets here."   
  
"You mean, IF she ever gets here."   
  
Just then Blair walked in the door carrying several shopping bags. "Hello all," Blair said with a smile. "I just found the most wonderful outfit for the party tonight."   
  
Jo walked up to her and said angrily, "It's not gonna fit too well when I tear your arms off."   
  
"My, we're in a foul mood today, aren't we?"   
  
"What did you expect Blair? This is the third time this week you've been late for your shift and I'm gettin' tired of it!"   
  
"Yeah," Tootie added, "we're always getting stuck covering for you."   
  
"Ok, I'm sorry. This will be the last time."   
  
"I've heard that one before," Natalie said under her breath.   
  
Blair just glared at her. "Well, doesn't anyone want to see my new outfit?"   
  
"No," Jo said.   
  
"No," Tootie repeated.   
  
"Not particularly," Natalie said.   
  
"Ok Blair, I'll take a look at it," Mrs. Garrett said. "Just give me a minute to put some more croissants in the oven." She left the room.   
  
"Great, you're going to love it. The rest of you are just jealous because you're not going to this party."   
  
"Oh, didn't I tell ya?" Jo said as Blair's smile started to fade. "I got invited too. So I guess I'll see you tonight! I don't exactly have the perfect outfit like you do, but..."   
  
"Oh, I'm sure you'll get by on your irresistible charm," Blair remarked sarcastically.   
  
"At least I don't go around doing everything in my power to look like a porcelain doll."   
  
"Well, that's better than going around looking like GI Joe!"  
  
"Oooh, this is gonna get good," Nat said to Tootie, who nodded in response.   
  
"You know what Blair? You really are the biggest snob I've ever met. I'm surprised you don't drown when it rains since you got your nose turned so high in the air."  
  
"I'd rather be a snob than be anything like YOU."  
  
Tootie and Natalie stared at each other with their jaws dropped. It would be a miracle if they got out of this without having to mop blood off the floor. They knew Jo well, and they knew that she could be pushed too far, and the look on her face indicated that Blair had really crossed the line. Then Jo did something they never would've expected. She turned and walked out of the room past Mrs. Garrett who was coming back in, without saying a word.   
  
"Jo? Jo, what's wrong?" Mrs. Garrett said. But Jo just ignored her and walked right by. "What's the matter with Jo, girls?"   
  
"Nothing Mrs. Garrett," Blair said. "Come on, I'll show you my new outfit." Blair and Mrs. Garrett walked into the living room, leaving Tootie and Natalie alone in the shop.   
  
"Wow, Jo seemed really upset," Tootie said.   
  
"I know, normally she would've just decked her. That must've really upset her."   
  
"Do you think we should go and talk to her?"   
  
"Probably not. Don't want to be around when the hurt feelings turn back into aggression and she takes it out on us. Besides, Blair's still skipping out on her shift, so we have to stay here."   
  
"Good point. I hope Jo's ok."  
  
************************************************************************   
  
Later that night Jo had already quietly left for the party. She hadn't spoken to anyone since that afternoon, not even Mrs. Garrett. Tootie and Natalie were worried, and Blair seemed to be her usual, oblivious self as she checked her party outfit in the mirror. She wore a red silk blouse with a black skirt and a beautiful gold chain around her neck. She seemed very pleased with the way it looked. Of course, she thought everything looked good on her.  
  
"I must say, this is a gorgeous outfit. I still have flawless taste."   
  
"That might be the only flawless thing about her," Natalie said to Tootie.   
  
"What was that? Did I ask for comments from the peanut gallery?"   
  
"No, but you're going to get some," Tootie said.   
  
"Um, what Tootie means to say is.... how can you be acting like this after what you did to Jo?"   
  
"What ever do you mean?"   
  
"Don't play dumb with us, Blair. She hasn't been left speechless since.... since...."   
  
"Probably since the womb," Natalie interrupted.   
  
"Thanks Nat."   
  
"No problem, Tootie."   
  
"Jo's a big girl," Blair said, "she can handle little ol' me. She'll be fine."   
  
Tootie walked over to her and said, "You don't feel the slightest bit guilty about it?"   
  
"Why should I? Jo says awful things to me all the time. I don't see you ever jumping in to defend ME."   
  
"Well, you deserve it," Natalie said.   
  
"Thanks a lot," Blair said.   
  
"Sorry, I didn't mean that. It's just that usually it's more like a contest between you two. Just the witty bantering, but this is different. I think you really might've hurt her. This might not just blow over like every other time."   
  
"We'll be fine. She'll be back to her old self and threatening to hit me before you know it. Now I have a party to get to. Don't wait up girls!"   
  
"Yeah, bye," Tootie said. Natalie and Tootie still didn't feel right about the whole thing, but they knew there was nothing more they could do.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
The party was already well underway. It was being held at one of the larger fraternity houses and the place was packed. College students were yelling over the loud music. Some had given up on talking and were dancing or eating. The party was at its height, and Blair walked in the door, fashionably late as always. She instinctively scanned the room looking for Jo, then stubbornly stopped herself. She didn't want to admit to herself that she was a little worried and decided instead to have a good time.   
  
Josh, a tall, handsome football player walked up to Blair and said, "Hey Blair! Good to see you! You want a brewski? Get this girl a brewski!"   
  
Blair reached up to him, "No, no. That's ok. I'm uh.... I'm trying to cut down." Blair had never really been a drinker, it just wasn't her style.   
  
"Hey, suit yourself," Josh said. "There's plenty of punch to drink over there." He pointed to the bright red punch bowl in the corner.  
  
"Oh, well thank you," Blair said as she made her way through the crowd. "And if I want a brewski later, I'll know who to ask." She smiled at Josh and he smiled back as she continued to cross the room. She found herself wedged in between some very tall men, and when she made her way to the other side, she bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry, I..." She stopped herself when she realized she had bumped into Jo. "Jo, listen, I..." She didn't manage to finish the sentence because Jo disappeared into the crowd. "Fine, be that way!" Blair yelled as she continued to cross the room. She finally managed to make her way to the punch bowl and she filled herself up a glass. She took a tiny sip and cringed a little because it tasted sort of strange.   
  
"Good punch, huh?" Todd, one of the frat guys across the table said. He was incredibly attractive and Blair found herself suddenly participating in this flirtatious conversation. She couldn't help herself, it was just force of habit. "Made it myself," Todd said.   
  
"Oh did you?" Blair said. "Well, it certainly is delicious," she said as she took a much larger sip. It still wasn't the greatest thing she had ever tasted, but anything for a dating prospect. "Mmmmmmmm. Wonferful. Did you use real fruit?"   
  
"Sure," Todd said, "why not? Along with some... special ingredients. Here," he poured her another glass, "have another."   
  
"Don't mind if I do," Blair said as she accepted the glass and sipped at it.   
  
"You sure are beautiful," Todd said to her.   
  
Blair tossed her hair and said, "Oh stop. You're embarrassing me." That, of course was a complete lie. "Just how beautiful?"   
  
"Beautiful enough to have another glass of my special punch. I made it just for you." He poured her another glass.   
  
She took it from him and smiled, "Oh stop! Never mind, you can keep going." He smiled at her as she started on her third glass of punch. Blair found herself captivated. She couldn't resist any man who didn't mind constantly complementing her. The rest of the party seemed to just fade off into the background. For Blair it was as though Todd was the only one there.  
  
*****************************************************************   
  
It had been about two hours since Jo had seen Blair. As far as she was concerned, it hadn't been nearly long enough. Though she would never have admitted it, Blair had really gotten to her. She'd gone too far. Jo was always willing to forgive her in the past, but this was different. She had finally had enough. Why couldn't they just be friends? She didn't want to be fighting with Blair. She was having a hard time enjoying herself just thinking about the whole situation. But she decided the only way she would forgive her was if she apologized. She wanted to know that Blair really felt sorry for what she had said. And if she didn't, then she didn't deserve to be forgiven and she didn't want to be friends with her anymore anyway. Jo decided to try to get Blair off her mind and finally have some fun. That was going to be difficult considering what happened next.   
  
Blair stumbled into the room holding up her glass of punch and yelled, "A toast to all my friends at Langly! You guys are the best. And now I have a little treat for you!"   
  
Jo couldn't understand what was going on. Blair often enjoyed being the center of attention, but this was a little much. She then jumped up on the coffee table and pointed to Josh over by the stereo. "Music please!"   
  
Josh abided and turned on the stereo as Blair began to dance and sing.   
  
"Some boys kiss me, some boys hug me, I think they're ok! If they don't give me proper credit I just walk away-ay." Blair continued singing along to Madonna's "Material Girl" and danced all over the place. She stole a girl's sunglasses and used them in her little routine. She even threw her silk scarf into the crowd that had gathered. Everyone was watching her, clapping and singing along. They loved every minute of it.   
  
"Cause we are living in a material world, and I am a material girl. You KNOW that we are..."   
  
Jo couldn't help but laugh. She knew what was going on. Blair was drunk. She would never soberly make a fool of herself this way. It was very unlike her, but it definitely was amusing. Jo couldn't wait to make fun of her later. She was never going to live this one down.   
  
The song ended and everyone cheered. "Thank you, thank you. I'm here all week, twice on Saturdays. You've been a beautiful audience, and I've been a beautiful performer." Blair stumbled off of the coffee table and bumped into Jo. Jo did her best to keep from laughing because she still wanted to be mad at her. It wasn't hard after what she said next. "Oh Jo. There you are. Having fun? Because I sure am. I'm glad you still hate me now because I wouldn't be having nearly as much fun if I were stuck hanging out here with you!"   
  
Jo pushed Blair away and stomped off. Blair was swaying a little and then said, "What did I say?" She shrugged and walked back towards Todd. "Your beautiful Blair needs another glass of punch. Fill 'er up Todd!"  
  
*****************************************************************   
  
The party was starting to die down, but Blair was definitely still going strong. She and Todd were sitting and talking on the couch. "You know something Todd? You make really great punch. I mean that. I mean, it is just fantastic."   
  
"I thought you liked it. You have had 17 glasses."   
  
"What is the special ingredient in here anyway?"   
  
"Pineapples, water, some Hi-C and quite a bit of rum actually." He knew there was no sense keeping it from her at this point. She was far from caring about anything, which was exactly what he was waiting for.  
  
"Is that right? Rum, huh? You'd think it would've made me a little tipsy after so many glasses. Guess I know how to hold my liquor!" She laughed and put her head on his shoulder. She was really slurring her words now. Todd looked around and saw that most of the people had left the party.   
  
"What do you say we go upstairs to my room, huh?"   
  
Blair lifted her head and looked at him. "Why? What's up there?"   
  
"Oh, just the usual, my desk, my chair, my bed.... you know, we can take the time to get to know each other better. I'd really like to get to know you better Blair."   
  
"You and everybody else," she laughed. "Sure, let's go." Todd smiled and helped her up. She could hardly stand on her own two feet at this point and he led her towards the stairs.  
  
Jo came out of the kitchen and saw them heading upstairs. She knew exactly what Todd had in mind and she knew that Blair's judgement was at an absolute zero after so much alcohol. She didn't care how mad she was, she had to stop this. "Where do you think you're going, Todd?"   
  
"Jo, stay out of this, huh?" Todd said. "Blair and I are just going upstairs to get a little, uh, better acquainted."   
  
"I don't think so."   
  
Blair looked up as though she had just realized Jo was there. She was still wearing the sunglasses from her little singing routine and she reached up and touched Jo's face. "Jo? Is that you?" She felt the hair pulled back in a pony-tail. "It is you! You need to start wearing more make-up, you're all blurry. Todd, this is my roommate Jo, she hates me right now. But don't tell her that, she might get mad."   
  
"Come on Blair, we're going home."   
  
"What are you talking about? I'm going upstairs with Todd here. He thinks I'm beautiful."   
  
"That's not all he's thinking about, come on Blair." Jo grabbed Blair's arm and tried to pull her away, but Todd held on.   
  
"No, she's staying with me. Now get out of here before you get hurt."   
  
"If anyone's going to get hurt in this it's gonna be you, now let go of her. I'm not leaving without her."   
  
"I think you will." Jo and Todd started using Blair for a game of tug of war, pulling her back and forth, but Blair had no clue what was going on. All she knew was that she was getting dizzy.   
  
"Will you two cut it out? You're giving me a headache!"   
  
"Come on Blair, you want to stay with me, right? We'll have a night you'll never forget." Blair looked at him as they stopped tugging on her, then Jo yanked her back.   
  
"This is one night you're going to forget right now," Jo yelled as she punched him in the face and knocked him out.   
  
Blair watched him fall and then looked at Jo. "Well what did you do that for?" Blair said angrily.   
  
"You'll thank me later, now come on."   
  
"No! I'm staying here." She knelt down to see if Todd was ok.   
  
Jo just rolled her eyes. "You want me to do the same to you!"   
  
"No, I..." Blair stood up and then passed out.   
  
Jo caught her. "Looks like I won't have to." Then She dragged her out of the frat house to take her home.  
  
*******************************************************************   
  
Jo drove Blair's car and Blair finally woke up as they pulled into the driveway, just in time to throw up all over the floor. "That'll be a fun surprise tomorrow," Jo said. "Come on, let's go inside." Jo helped Blair inside since she was still having trouble walking, and she did her best to keep her quiet. This proved difficult.   
  
"Jo, I want you to know something."   
  
"What's that Blair."   
  
"I don't want you to treat me any differently now that you know I can fly. I'll take you with me sometimes. It'll be fun." Then Blair started an encore of her performance earlier that night. "Living in a material world, and I am a material girl, you know that we are..."   
  
"We all know you're a material girl, now will you shut up! We don't want to wake Mrs. G."   
  
"Oh, right," Blair faked zipping her mouth shut and throwing away the key.   
Jo just rolled her eyes and continued to help Blair up the stairs. At this point she couldn't even stand up on her own. They went up the stairs as quietly as possible so Mrs. Garrett wouldn't wake up. She tried to be quiet enough not to wake up Tootie and Natalie, but she knew it would be hopeless, and she was right. The minute she opened the door Tootie turned on the light.   
  
"Have fun at the party?" Tootie said.   
  
At this point she couldn't see that Jo was dragging Blair in. "I did at first, then this." She pulled Blair in, still leaning on Jo and wearing her sunglasses.   
  
"Hiya Tootie! You're looking lovelier than ever this evening, you know that?"   
  
"Jo, what did you do? Hit her so hard you gave her brain damage?" Natalie asked.   
  
"No, she's drunk," Jo said as she brought Blair over to her bed and dropped her down so she was lying on her back.   
  
"That's not like her," Tootie said.   
  
"I know, I don't get it either, but that's what happened."   
  
"Huh, I never noticed we had a revolving room before. The ceiling is spinning.... cool!" Blair said as she stared straight up.   
  
"Well, at least she's not a mean drunk," Natalie said.  
  
Jo glared at Natalie and then went over to Blair and started to take off her shoes. "I had to get her out of there, some creep was trying to take advantage of her."  
  
Natalie gasped, "I hope you took care of this creep."   
  
"Oh yeah, I took care of it. Wanna get me some ice for my hand? I think I hurt it on his face."   
  
"Good job Jo," Tootie said. "She's lucky to have a friend like you."   
  
"Too bad she doesn't know that," Jo said.   
  
"Sure she does," Natalie said. "She just has a funny way of showing it."   
  
"Yeah, right. Ask her in the morning and see what she says. I'm done being a good friend. She's not in trouble anymore, she can handle the rest herself. Good luck finding the bathroom next time you need it."   
  
"I'll just use my newfound flying ability. Now can we turn off the spinning please?"   
  
"I'll get you that ice Jo."   
  
"Thanks Tootie. Goodnight Blair!" Jo shouted. But Blair was already passed out again.  
  
******************************************************************   
  
The next morning everyone was already up except for Blair, who had somehow managed to turn around in her bed so her feet were on her pillow. Her hair was a mess and she was still in her clothes from the night before, minus the shoes. Natalie walked into the room as Blair lifted her head slightly off the mattress. She looked awful.  
  
"God morning sunshine!" Natalie said.   
  
Blair could hardly open up her eyes to see who was there. Her head was pounding in a way she had never experienced. "I think I'm dying."   
  
"You wish," Natalie said.  
  
"What happened last night? Why does my head hurt so much? Why am I still in my clothes? Did Jo knock me out and I don't remember?"   
  
"Not exactly. I wasn't there, so Jo will have to give you the details, but I guess you got pretty drunk last night."   
  
"Drunk? I didn't even drink. Did I? All I had to drink last night was....." she suddenly remembered what Todd had said. "Rum."   
  
"Well Blair, I don't know if you're aware of this, but Rum is what we call an alcoholic beverage. So if you drink too much of it, you could get drunk."   
  
"No, it was in the punch. He must've spiked it. Oh, I feel so stupid. Wait a minute, how did I get home? I didn't drive, did I?"   
  
"No, don't worry about that. Jo brought you home in your car."   
  
"Oh, good. Wait, why did she do that? Isn't she mad at me?"   
  
"Well, she didn't want to see you get hurt."   
  
"I can take care of myself."   
  
"Maybe you better get the whole story from Jo. Mrs. Garrett is gone for the day, so you don't have to worry about her. I'll go and make you some coffee, maybe it'll help make you feel better."   
  
"Thanks Natalie." Natalie walked out of the room and Blair slowly got up and held her head. "Ugh, now I know why I don't drink. This is the most God-awful pain I've ever experienced. Why am I wearing sunglasses?"  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
Natalie was in the kitchen making Blair her coffee and Tootie and Jo were sitting at the table eating breakfast.   
  
"I'm telling you Tootie, this is it. I'm tired of her. I can't take it anymore."   
  
"Come on Jo, just give her a chance to apologize. Tell her what happened last night."   
  
"Forget it. She can't apologize like a normal person because she's just plain heartless. We always thought there might be something more there, but there's not. She doesn't care how I feel. She never would've done the same thing for me if the situation were reversed last night."   
  
"You don't know that! She really does like you Jo, she was just upset yesterday."   
  
"No she doesn't Tootie, and you know it."   
  
"She doesn't what?" Blair said as she made her way down the stairs.   
  
"Nothing, just forget it. I gotta go," Jo said as she got up to leave.   
  
"Jo, wait," Blair said. "I want to know what happened last night."   
  
Natalie came in from the next room with her coffee and gave Blair her mug. "Yeah Jo, I think we'd all like to know what happened."   
  
"Fine," Jo said, "you wanna know what happened? Blair got loaded like an idiot and then she danced around singing 'Material Girl' like an idiot, and then she passed out and I brought her home. End of story."   
  
"You sang 'Material Girl' in front of all those people?" Tootie said, then she and Natalie burst out laughing at her.   
  
"I did not!" Blair yelled.   
  
"Oh yeah?" Jo yelled as she took one of Blair's scarves off the couch and started to reenact Blair's performance.   
  
"Oh my," Blair said as she suddenly remembered.   
  
"Oh yes," Jo said. "Maybe next time you won't drink quite so much. Or do, I'm sure they'd love an encore. Now I'm outta here."   
  
"Wait a minute Jo!" Blair yelled. Slowly the events of the previous evening started seeping back into her memory. "I wasn't planning on drinking."   
  
"Well you sure messed up that plan, didn't you," Jo said.   
  
"No, I was just drinking the punch and someone spiked it."   
  
"Blair, never drink anything at those kinds of parties, no matter how innocent it looks. Why'd you keep drinking it anyway? You must've tasted the alcohol."   
  
"Well, Todd was so..."   
  
"Oh, TODD, huh?"   
  
"You're just jealous. In fact, you took me away from the party just as I was starting to have fun with him!"   
  
"What? Do you have any idea what you put me through last night? You know what? Next time you can fight your own battles, I'm not going to be around anymore." Jo ran back up the stairs.   
  
"Good! Do whatever you want! I don't need you anyway! The nerve of her, blaming me for her horrible night."   
  
Then Natalie said, "why don't you go up there and get the rest of the story Blair. Last night could've turned out a lot different if she wasn't there."   
  
"Yeah, like I could've maybe come out of that with Todd's phone number."   
  
"Maybe a little more than just his phone number Blair." Natalie said.   
  
"What are you talking about?"   
  
"Todd was about to... you know, take advantage of you since you were so out of it. Jo had to punch him out. If she wasn't there.... well, she was there, that's all counts." Natalie said.   
  
"She really did that?"   
  
"That's what she told us." Tootie said   
  
"Why would she do that? I was so awful to her yesterday."   
  
"She would never let a fight get in the way of something like that. She didn't want to see anything happen to you no matter how mad she was." Tootie said.   
  
"I better go talk to her."   
  
"That'd be a good start," Tootie said.   
  
Blair stood up and started to go up the stairs. "Why must walking be the most painful thing for me to do right now?" Blair said as she held her head.   
  
"Think they'll be ok?" Tootie asked.   
  
"Either that or we're going to have one less person to fight with for bathroom time."  
  
***************************************************************  
  
Up in their bedroom Jo was packing some of her things as Blair walked in.   
  
"If you're waiting for me to apologize, you can just forget it because it's not gonna happen."   
  
"No Jo, I'm the one who owes you the apoooo.... apoooo...." she couldn't get the words out.   
  
"Maybe you can just send me a telegram when you finally learn to say the word."   
  
"Apology. There, I said it."   
  
"Yeah, ya did, now get out of my way."   
  
"Wait, I guess I should say why now, huh?"   
  
"That might help a little. But let's hurry this up, huh? I got a train to catch."   
  
"Ok Jo, come over here and sit down. Standing is still not my best thing right now." Jo reluctantly sat on her bed across from Blair. "Natalie told me what you did for me last night. Why didn't you tell me?"   
  
"What's the point? I did it, end of story."   
  
"Jo, if you weren't there last night, things could've gotten... I hate to even imagine how things could've gotten. Why did you do that for me? After the things I said..."   
  
"Blair, I don't care what you say. I don't want to see anyone and up in a situation like that. No matter how mad they make me. I'd hate to see you get hurt like that. But I'm not going to be around anymore. I'm moving out."  
  
"Jo, I'm so sorry for all the things I said. I didn't mean it. I want to be a lot like you. You're the best friend anyone could ask for, and I'm lucky to have you. I still don't want your fashion sense..."   
  
"Shut up. Did you actually just say you were sorry?"   
  
"Yeah, I think I did."   
  
"I didn't think you had any idea how lucky you were to have a friend like me. Or that you even cared at all."   
  
"As much as I hate to admit it.... yes, I don't know anyone else who would've done that for me. Especially after the way I treated you. You know what? I would've done the same for you, because I do care, and I don't want you to ever forget that."   
  
"Really?"   
  
"I probably would've kicked him in the shins rather than punching him in the face, but you're my best friend, Jo. I don't want to see anything bad happen to you."   
  
"I'm sorry about what I said too. I guess there is more to you than that snobby exterior."   
  
"So what do you say? Can we be friends again?"   
  
"Sure." Then Blair hugged Jo, and for once she didn't push her away. She had never seen Blair be so sincere. Must've been the hangover.   
  
"I just have one more question," Blair said.   
  
"What's that?"   
  
"Did I really sing like Madonna?"   
  
"Oh yeah. I wish I had a camera. It was great."   
  
"At least I picked a song that was very 'me'"   
  
"Just don't ever drink like that again, you scared me to death!"   
  
"Oh, I won't. I promise. I think I've had enough for quite a while. Now how do I get rid of this horrible headache?"   
  
They both began to laugh and Jo lead Blair to the bathroom to get her a hefty dose of Tylenol.  
  
*************************************************************   
THE END  
  
  



End file.
